The Ninth Trial

[advisories]

Who: everyone
When: Day 18, starting just after dawn
Where: The Hermit's Tent, and all around

[This morning as the sun begins to pour through the train's windows, there's the tremor that signals a Trial.]

Come hither, Heroes. Prove thy worth. Or something like that!

[It's the same older man's voice from the sixth trial, and outside is the same fortune teller's stall. Today the front flap is lifted to show a normal interior -- there's a wooden table, carved with geometric patterns and painted in bright colours, lit by teal-coloured carved candles.

At the table sits a man of indeterminate age, somewhere between 30 and 60. He's wearing what appear to be monk's robes, teal with patterned trimming. In front of him is a crystal ball and a stack of bingo cards, along with a stand-up sign bearing the rules of this Trial.

Across the top in large font, it says:

Icebreaker Bingo

Good luck and have fun!]

Comments

(frozen comment) RULES

[advisories]

The goal of this game is to deepen your bonds. That's all! Characters must take a bingo card and try to fill as many squares as possible by performing the acts listed in them. This is a mingle game -- characters have free rein of the Aurora and surrounding area and can complete objectives at leisure in the alloted time.

The template bingo card can be found here! Please copy it to your own drive and mark squares as you fill them.

Rules:

- Wins will be given to the three teams with the most bingos, and the one team with the most squares filled overall.

- You may fill multiple squares with the same person/in the same thread, and with people on or off your team

- You may fill the same square multiple times, but duplicates only count towards the "most squares filled" win condition

- You don't have to link your threads, but please respect the honor system!

- Characters automatically know what each square means

- Turn-in by 7pm PST on Monday, April 1st

TURN-IN

[advisories]

Please reply to your team header with a link to your filled-out bingo sheet.

Turn-in is due by 7pm PST on Monday, April 1st!

THE HERMIT

[advisories]

[The Hermit will be hanging out in his tent for the duration of the event. You may talk to him if you wish!]

[bad_crowmance]

[ Crow reads over the bingo card for a moment before he shrugs and grins. ]

Alright, let's get this started! Who's first?

[desirestruth]

[She's staring at the card and just...sighing.]

Let's get this over with, then.

[bad_crowmance]

[ He holds up his card and points at a square for her.

"Talk about your most important person." ]

I'll let you start.

[desirestruth]

[Staring at her card and, very slowly turning red, she just. Punctures the large bag she's carrying with her with her fangs, right along the top, and takes a long, resigned slurp.

...let's all hope together that's a bag of wine.]

Alright, then, let's get this over with.

[desirestruth]

[She saw that coming, but she's still giving him a dirty look.]

Going to give me anything to start from?

[bad_crowmance]

[ The still-present grin on his face is completely unrepentant. ]

Tell me how you fell in love!

[unaffective]

I suppose so.

[bad_crowmance]

Got a square you wanna start on?

[unaffective]

[ skimming over it with a fairly pensive expression; by the time she's finished she's pasted a tiny smile on top, flagging you down! yes! you! ]

Good morning! Would you be interested in playing?

[unaffective]

I have no preference, particularly. Please choose as you like.

[bad_crowmance]

[ His first and most immediate thought is to start with the kissing square, but he pushes that aside for now. He doesn't know her that well yet. ]

Turn around, I'll give you a shoulder rub.

[cawnflict]

No.

[ ... ]

But I will, this time.

[unaffective]

... Ah, alright.

[ turns around, lifting the bulk of her hair over her shoulders with her free hand.

from behind, now, he can see that there's a senna-red ribbon on the back of her head, braided into her hair. ]

[desirestruth]

[She actually flinches. Hard. About that landmine you just stepped on, Crow...]

...It happened over time. I didn't...I'd resigned myself to otherwise, but we...had a journey we had to make. I'd hoped we could at least become friends, since that would make marriage much easier. And I like to think we did succeed in that, at least.

But he is...reliable, and noble-hearted, and tempers ambition with sweetness and genuine compassion, where he can. There is no room in the world for a gentle King, but wherever he can be, he is.

[her expression and tone do soften there, a little wistful.] ...I suppose when I think about it like that, it's not surprising. But I wasn't prepared for it, and falling in love is a little similar to falling down the stairs. It is difficult to know how to handle it.

[unaffective]

If you would instead prefer to make requests of me, rather than filling your own squares, that is certainly acceptable.

[bad_crowmance]

[ He moves his hands towards her shoulders and starts giving a good neck-and-shoulder rub. ...He's pretty decent at it, actually, even working mostly off of muscle memory. ]

The ribbon in your hair is a cute touch.

[cawnflict]

[ ha ha ha. ]

There's a couple on here that aren't ridiculous. [ ... ] But I want to see you pretend to be an animal.

[unaffective]

[ congratulations! it's full of knots!

her neck, shoulders, and back may as well just be one big knot. it's kind of gross. after a small grunt, she murmurs, ]

Thank you... at the time that I began to do it, I did hope that it would appear cute. Loathe though I may be to confess so, my eye for such things remains lacking even today...

[unaffective]

[ looks at the card

looks at him, ]

I don't care for any animals, particularly...

[cawnflict]

Really?

[ ... it's kind of an odd feeling. Maybe it's because his life has revolved around caring way too much about "animals". ]

That's relieving. You don't think any are cute?

[bad_crowmance]

Haha, you make it sound dangerous!

[ He's absolutely convinced it's dangerous. ]

[desirestruth]

Everything worth anything is.

[He wouldn't be wrong.]